Merry Christmas!

Yummy

Oliver enjoying his Christmas pizzelle's from Aunt Astrid.  My boys love these so much I just might have to invest in my own pizzelle press.

So Glad That's Over!

Well we survived....all being sick that is.  From last Friday until this Wednesday night, everyone in our family was very sick.  The boys had it the worst and then Thomas and I.  Let me explain, we don't get sick.....seriously.  Our kids are rarely sick, and never to the point of throwing up.   I have to admit, sometimes I get a little prideful and take for granted the fact that I have healthy kids.  Honestly, the night the throwing up started, I had just told Thomas 10 minutes earlier, our kids never get sick, Oliver has never thrown up and the boys haven't in years!  Literally 10 minutes later Oliver threw up, and it didn't stop for 5 days!  
I just don't deal well with kids throwing up, scrubbing carpets, giving baths, changing sheets etc. at 2 am and every 15 minutes following.  Not to mention the fact that Thomas and I were both sick too, so it was an elbowing match everytime we heard one of the kids running to the bathroom again in the middle of the night.  I am just so thankful that we got this out of the way this week and it wasn't on Christmas.  From now on I am going to make a point to be thankful for healthy kids because it is so easy to take it for granted!


P.S.
It wasn't over....I was sick all yesterday and throughout the night.  Thankfully, Thomas came home from work early.  Just this one night made me so grateful that I have never had to be on bedrest...yikes!  

The Portable North Pole

I created one of these last year for Joseph and Henry and again this year.  If you haven't tried it before you should, it is very believable.  The boys LOVE getting a video email from Santa.

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

Snack Time

The boys having a snack and being silly, I couldn't get a good one of all of them.

 

 

 

Oliver's Antics

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this yet, but Oliver is driving me crazy!  I thought I had this baby boy thing figured out by now, but I obviously don't.  I keep telling everyone,  "I have never had  a baby like this!"
He has gotten into so many things, I decided to start a list, because someday I may think it is funny.
Here goes:

1. Wrote all over the kitchen wall with a dry erase marker, thankfully I have magic erasers.
2. Took the vacuum bag out of the vacuum, along with copious amounts of yucky dust from the bag, and spread it all over the carpet.
3. Pushed the lamp off of the end table onto the floor, breaking the lightbulb.
4. Climbs onto the island, counters, and kitchen table daily.
5. Put a lollipop stick in the humidifier fan.
6. Knocked down my red berry Christmas tree and broke the top.
7. Pulled an entire round of Christmas lights off of the tree.
8. After pulling them off, threw numerous Christmas ornaments on the floor, before we undecorated the bottom half of the tree.
9. Dumped out my entire sewing box, needles and all, on the floor and was playing with them.
10. Took out two of the three drawers on his dresser and dumped them on the floor, bending the rails inside in the process.
11. Knocked over his dirty diaper garbage, took the bag out and all of the diapers.
12. Took out the drawer under his crib, dumped it over and jumped on it.
13. Played in the toilet with the plunger, many times.
14. Got in my bathtub, and was caught as he was attempting to turn the water on.
15. Took every Kleenex out of a brand new box.
16. Took every wipe out of a new container.
17. Stuffed as many new diapers as he could into the diaper garbage.
18. Took out all pans from the drawer under the stove.
19. Dumped a bag of coffee out all over the floor in the pantry.
20. Pulled a coffee filter, with old grounds, out of the garbage and ate some.  He had them all over his mouth...YUCK!
21. Picked up a hot cup of coffee, attempted to drink it, and spilled it all over the carpet.
22. Opened the garage door, unbeknownst to me, and went outside by himself.
23. Pushed over the fireplace grill and broke it.
24. Throws all of the remote controls consistently, surprisingly none of them have been broken.
25. Manages to squeeze his hand between the child lock and turns off the cd player daily.  All I want is to listen to a little Christmas music!

Just so you don't think that Oliver is unsupervised, most of these things have happened while I am busy doing things like; going to the bathroom, switching the clothes, loading up the car etc.  It is amazing the havoc he can cause in a matter of seconds!

Stocking Stuffer Ideas?

Does anyone have a good idea for stocking stuffers?  Every year this is on my last minute to-do list and I am determined to have it done sooner this year.  I always end up getting an over-abundance of candy and some useless cheap toys that no one ever plays with.  I don't give toothbrushes, socks or underwear in the stockings because we have those stockpiled.  Ideas anyone?

1st Snow

We had our first real snow and the boys couldn't get their gear on fast enough.  Oliver stayed outside for an hour, and the big boys even longer.  Thanks to my lovely hubby for going out with Oliver so I could stay in my pajamas and relax!

 

 

 

Thank you!

Wow, thanks to all of my friends and family who gave suggestions for a name.  There were so many good ones! We still haven't decided.....but will hopefully soon!

New Pictures

2010 pictures 

Oliver John

19 months old

 Henry Patrick

5 years old

 Joseph Augustine

7 years old

Help Please!

One of the most difficult things about having our fourth boy is choosing a name!  I have never been so lost on naming one of our kids and I am pretty sure Thomas feels the same.  Hindsight is 20/20, because if I had known I would be blessed with four boys, I would have saved some of our middle names for first names.  Thomas and I cannot agree on anything, except for the fact that this one will finally have Thomas as a middle name.  I am taking any and all suggestions.  We tend to like classic, but not common names, nothing trendy.  Please comment and leave me some ideas!! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I have many things to give thanks for, but I am especially thankful because I don't have to cook.... anything!  Thanks to the generosity of my brother and sister-in-law, who are hosting, I get the day off.  I will get my turn next year.  Our plans for Thanksgiving and the day after include; watching the Macy's parade, going to Mass, watching the Saints beat the Cowboys, eat, play Settlers of Catan ( I haven't told my brother about this yet) and decorate for Christmas.  The only downside is that I don't get to drink any wine!  I hope everyone has a blessed and relaxing holiday!

Monkey on the Counter

So this is what has been happening everyday, multiple times a day....

Oliver nearly gives me a heart attack everytime I walk into the kitchen and find him on the counter.  I have had to make sure that I don't keep anything on it, because he will ruin it.  We've never had a climber before, and I realize that I took that for granted!  I really hope he grows out of this stage soon!

Joseph Augustine

Happy 7th Birthday to my big boy Joseph!

 

  

 

Second Project Completed!

I finished my second knitting project, a hat for Henry.  He loves it, which makes me very happy.  Knitting is becoming addicting for me.  I already have 4 more projects that I want to start!

Oh Boy Oh Boy!

Looks like this will be the scene at my house in the coming years, in fact I may need to frame this picture.  
It's another boy!

I was not surprised, but honestly a little disappointed.  I am sure my boys will love their little brother, I am just getting used to the idea of 4 BOYS!

I am trying not to feel sorry for myself and remind myself that there are many who struggle with infertility or face a major health issue with their children.  We are very blessed to have three healthy boys and one on the way.  As it is the season to be thankful, I am really trying to embrace this and just be THANKFUL!  This may not be the vision that I had for my family but it is God's, and He has the greater plan.

The Lego Party

Today we celebrated Joseph's 7th birthday, even though the real day isn't until next Sunday.  This was our first "friend" party and I have to admit, I was a little scared.  We had to keep 9 boys, ages 4-7, busy for a couple of hours without getting bored and without fighting. 

Joseph's chosen theme was Lego, of course.  The party ended up being a complete success, everyone had fun, minimal messes were made and Thomas and I survived.

We decided to make these personalized Lego mini-figures for all of the boys.  They came out really cute, but were a lot of work! 

 Henry with his Drew Brees Saints mini-figure.

 Joseph, with his Lego Universe mini-figure.

 The Lego cake, that I slaved and stressed out over.  It came out okay, but next time I will not chicken out and will try the fondant.

 Enjoying the party.

Thank goodness we are done with the party, hopefully I won't have to worry about another one until June!  I also have to add that I am so thankful for my husband, who helped with everything.  He was the game master and shared the burden of making the mini figures and, as always, attempted to calm me down when I was overreacting :-)

Can We Move Here??

One of the biggest frustrations about where we live is the choice of schools.  If I didn't feel like I "had" to, I would not homeschool.  I admit my reasons are selfish, I just want more time to myself.  This is where I want to go.  The curriculum is incredible and is exactly the type of education I would love for my kids to have, without me having to teach it.  Now I just have to convince my husband to move to Maryland! :-)

Pre-Mass Pictures

Some mornings before Mass I think the boys look so handsome, but I never bother getting the camera out (or don't have time!)

This past Sunday I am so glad I did, even though I couldn't get one with all of them looking.

 

Frustrated Oliver

Here are some pictures that are going to make you wish you came to my house more often...

 Isn't he too young for tantrums??!

 Henry trying to comfort him....it didn't work!

It really is a shame that I didn't take a movie, because you really can't appreciate these pictures without HEARING him.  The volume level that Oliver is able to reach makes my ears ring and gives me a headache, and he does it ALL the time.  I do believe this was because Thomas wouldn't give him a piece of his cupcake....hmmm...OVER REACTION?!

My First Project Completed!

Here is my first attempt at knitting something real.  

I can't believe I actually finished it, I certainly never would have if it hadn't been for my friend Wendy's help.  

Henry asked me to make him a scarf last year and I never finished it.  I practiced  a little more and then started this one a couple of weeks ago.  I am going to ignore the fact that after putting it on for the first time he said it was itchy!!!

Happy All Saints Day!

All you holy men and women pray for us!

Happy Halloween!